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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique
Renzo Gracie and Royler Gracie, with John Danaher and Kid Peligro
*Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique* is a foundational manual of the grappling art that reshaped modern martial arts, written by champions Renzo and Royler Gracie with the coach-theorist John Danaher and writer Kid Peligro. It opens with an unusually thoughtful argument for *why* jiu-jitsu works — framing the martial arts around a single problem, how a smaller person can defeat a bigger, stronger attacker — and traces the art's lineage from Japanese judo through the Gracie family in Brazil. The bulk of the book is a clearly photographed technical curriculum: positions, escapes, submissions and strategy, organized to build understanding rather than memorized moves. Commissioned in the wake of jiu-jitsu's dominance in early no-holds-barred contests, it speaks to practitioners and to anyone wanting to grasp the logic behind the grappling revolution.
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The authors
Renzo and Royler Gracie are members of the celebrated Brazilian family that developed Brazilian jiu-jitsu, both decorated world and Abu Dhabi submission champions and influential teachers. Their collaborator John Danaher, a New York–based coach with a philosophy background, has since become one of the most respected theorists in grappling; Kid Peligro was a prolific martial-arts author.
The book
Published in 2001, the book was reportedly commissioned by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, founder of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club. It pairs a conceptual framework — the "fundamental problem" of self-defense — with a systematic, illustrated technical syllabus, which is part of why it became a standard early reference for the art.
How it reads
The theory chapters are prized for making beginners think, while the technique sections assume you will drill them on the mat rather than learn from the page alone. Grappling has evolved enormously since 2001, so some material now reads as historical, but the conceptual approach holds up well.
For more context
Pair it with Kid Peligro's The Gracie Way for the family's story.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Renzo Gracie and Royler Gracie, with John Danaher and Kid Peligro
- Publisher
- Invisible Cities Press
- Place of publication
- Montpelier, Vermont
- Year
- 2001
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Craft & How-to
- Location
- Colorado